Moleskine Ruled Notebook Large
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Book Reviews of Moleskine Ruled Notebook Large
Book Review: Finally, the perfect notebook.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've long been an avid fan of notebooks, and more generally, quality stationary. I own quite a number of notebooks, both self-bought and those that were gifted to me. However in each case, the notebook somehow fell short and I would find myself disheartened to write in them a few pages in. They were either spiral-bounded, poorly bounded, lines were ruled too wide, had poor paper quality, etc.
Yes, I'm absolutely anal-retentive over the quality of my notebooks and how I write in them.
I've always thought about Moleskines as a teenager, and I finally took the plunge recently. Never again will I ever consider purchasing a different brand of notebook.
The binding, cover, and paper quality of this notebook are top-notch. The ruled lines are a perfect width. The elastic band keeps the notebook closed and prevents damage to pages should I just happen to haphazardly throw my Moleskine into my bag. The additional pocket at the back of the notebook is also great for keeping little tidbits of information, such as business cards from restaurants I want to write a short little review for.
I originally started to write in my Moleskine using a Tombo Playcolor 2 black pen (available in Japan), and the ink dried nicely. However, I recently adopted this: Sharpie Pen Fine Point Pen, 2 Black Pens (1742659). These Sharpie pens are perfect for writing in your Moleskin for three main reasons:
1. The ink dries near-instantly (even faster than my Tombo pen), leading to minimal ink-transfer and smearing.
2. Minimal pressure needed to apply ink, so your pages lie flat after writing on them instead of being wrinkled from a ballpoint pen.
3. Bold ink colors lend to great aesthetic.
I'll never use Moleskine for taking class notes in (except perhaps the thinner paperback notebooks that come in sets of 3), since the number of pages is overkill for most classes. I'll use Five Star notebooks for that.
But for everything else - rants, thoughts, and introspection - this Moleskin is perfect.
Book Review: The Ultimate Diary/Journal
Summary: 5 Stars
As a 20-year old college student I often reflect back on childhood and think of how good of an idea it would have been to have kept a diary. How wonderful would it be to look back and pick apart your younger brain? Such is the appeal of keeping a diary.
When I first started I had only one goal: write every day. Doesn't matter if it's just a few sentences containing the activities or several pages written about one specific topic I'm thinking about. Just write every day, 365 days a year.
At first I looked at computers. I figured that keeping a diary in the form of a text document on my macbook would be a great solution for many reasons, including how much more information I'd be able to write because I type much faster than I write, how the solution didn't cost me a cent, the added security of having a hidden text file in a computer that only I access compared to leaving a notebook with my deepest thoughts and secrets laying around somewhere in my room, etc. etc.
Some bold oversights in that plan included: 1.) having to lug out the macbook every single night and spend around 30+ seconds just waiting to get into the text file after booting up, and 2.) the cold relationship one has with a keyboard and computer compared to the personal union of an eager diarist whipping out a beautiful notebook full of blank leafs with a fine pen.
Having a notebook that you enjoy writing in right by your bedside is the key to sticking with your diary on a day-to-day basis. If your diary is there waiting with a pen on your nightstand it's almost impossible to see it, ignore it, and go to sleep without writing in it.
The first brand I looked for was Moleskine. I had heard good things but never tried them out for myself. I've purchased two now and I'm not looking back; the moleskine notebooks are of the highest quality while still maintaing incredible financial value, at only $10 on Amazon.com. The pages are crisp and beautiful and the pagemark ribbon and elastic band to keep the book closed are subtle-yet-significant added touches.
This IS your journal/diary.
Book Review: Lives up to the hype
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using moleskine notebooks for the past few years. Having kept a journal since 7th grade, I've had my share of good and bad notebooks. Although some may say that moleskines are a bit on the expensive side, I've found them to be comparable in price to other well-made journals/diaries. I wouldn't say, as some have said in their reviews, that this is a composition book replacement. For extensive writing, I'd rather use a full size notebook, not a paperback sized one. This notebook is good for keeping a journal, or even to jot down random creative ideas (although one of the smaller moleskines may be more handy for the latter).
Pros? Durable cover (I've been using this one on/off for a couple years, thrown it in backpacks when I went traveling, in cramped laptop bags, purses, etc. and it still looks the same), good elastic enclosure, back pocket for any stray notes/mementos, decent page marker (mine has begun fraying, but I've put the notebook through a lot), and most importantly, really smooth college ruled paper. I hate writing in journals with wide/huge ruled paper, with lines that don't extend all the way. This notebook is perfect in the sense that you don't have any wasted writing surface, and the lines are so light that they don't detract attention away from the writing. The paper is an off-white cream color, super smooth. I always look forward to writing in it because it just /feels/ different. Pages are normal thickness, but I haven't found any problems with the pen ink bleeding.
My preferred pen of choice, as others have mentioned, is the Pilot Precise V5. I use the extra fine one. You can easily buy an office pack for $15 at Staples, much cheaper than buying the pens singly. I've also tried out Uniball gels, but I found the V5 to be the smoothest. My creative writing instructor also recommended it for extensive writing.
Anyway, you really can't go wrong with this one. It's just a beautifully well constructed notebook, and will make you feel like going back to it again and again to write!
Book Review: Stylish though not totally functional
Summary: 3 Stars
I've never had much of a need for notebooks, but bought one of these from Amazon to do some journaling on a recent travel excursion. I found this notebook to be the ideal size for traveling with, though a bit small for writing many pages in at a time. I can't fault anybody but myself for buying a notebook that was a tad too small, but still something to consider if you plan on sitting down to write for a long time in this book. I'd imagine it's nearly perfect for quick note-taking, though.
The notebook itself is very stylish -- durable cover and binding, sturdy strap, and neat bookmark. Fits well in a small bag and doesn't weigh much of anything at all.
I wrote in this with a set of Pilot G2 (0.7mm) gel pens, which I use and prefer to other cheap-ish pens for daily writing but they had the unfortunate tendency to smear all over the page with an errant movement of the hand before the gel dried. I'm not much of a pen aficionado, so I probably should have done some homework on that before writing. Generally taking a few seconds to allow the gel to dry after writing a page would alleviate any problems, though it's a pain to stop mid-thought when you need to move on to another page.
I have quite small handwriting and found the ruling of these pages to be about as small as I could comfortably tolerate. If you consider yourself to have average to above-average sized handwriting, you might want to look for a wide ruled notebook. I also found that, while the gel pens I wrote with didn't bleed through the paper, I couldn't even consider writing on the backs of pages as the writing on the other side was definitely visible. It effectively cuts the number of usable pages in half.
In all, I found it to be a good in construction but had a few continual annoyances while writing in it. The price on Amazon for this notebook when I purchased it (~$9) was much cheaper than anywhere else I could find them, so keep that in mind.
Book Review: Best Choice for Journaling
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been journaling ever since I was a pimply-faced teenager, and now I'm 31. In that time, I've used all varieties of notebooks, and filled them all. I came across the Moleskine brand a few years ago, and now I won't use anything else. The large ruled notebook is sturdy, of excellent construction, holds I think 265 pages, and the pages will not fall out. This notebook is best for writers and diarists.
I wouldn't use this book for school because, first of all, it is expensive. Second of all, it's a bit of overkill. I doubt you'll take a class in which you'll have time to fill up this notebook. You'll be more organized in a class if you buy a simple lab book or composition book to take notes in for each class.
I know a lot of people who try to write in jounals. They buy them with the best intentions, write a couple of pages, and then seem to forget about them and eventually buy ANOTHER journal, in which they will write a few pages and forget about. The key is just to keep the SAME journal, to keep in it in the same safe place, and to write in it whenever you feel like it, even if months go by without you touching it. If someone buys you another journal, fill up the first one first, and then move on to the new one. You can learn from my experience and start with the best, which is Moleskine. Otherwise . . . do whatever you want. The main thing is just to have something to write in.
I've also used all variety of pens. My choice is the Pilot Precise V5. Every now and then you'll get a bum one, that you've just got to throw away because it's not writing smoothly or properly. But, for the most part, these are the best choice for journaling and writing. They are fine point. They last longer than gel ink. They require no pressure whatsoever to be placed on the tip, as ball-point pens do, and they don't smear.